Treaty with Choctaws and Chickasaws
The Treaty with Choctaws and Chickasaws was a treaty signed on July 12, 1861 between the Choctaw and Chickasaw (American Indian Nations in Oklahoma) and the Confederate States of America. At the beginning of the American Civil War, Albert Pike was appointed as Confederate envoy to Native Americans. In this capacity he negotiated several treaties, one of the most important being with Cherokee chief John Ross, which was concluded in 1861.Handbook of Texas Online, s.v. "Pike, Albert," http://www.tshaonline.org/handbook/online/articles/PP/fpi18.html (accessed March 4, 2009). The treaty was ratified and was proclaimed on December 20, 1861 by the Confederacy. The Choctaw and Chickasaw also duly ratified the treaty. Terms The preamble begins with, was a commissioner for the Chickasaw Nation. Colbert developed the Chickasaw Nation's constitution in the 1850s. ]] The treaty had 64 terms. The following terms of the treaty were: # Perpetual peace and friendship # Protection provided by the Confederacy # Confederacy will not abandon or desert them # Boundaries defined # Boundaries defined continued # Safe passage for Choctaws through Chickasaw district # Choctaw and Chickasaw nations to give full assent to the provisions of the act of the Confederacy # Confederacy solemnly guarantees the lands held the by the Choctaws and Chickasaws forever # Land never will be sold # No state or territory laws of the Confederacy will be passed for the Choctaws and Chickasaws governments # Confederacy renews leased area from the United States # Indians in the leased area shall be subject to Confederacy laws until they are capable of self-government or subjected to Choctaw and Chickasaw laws. # Confederacy waterways are free to Choctaw and Chickasaw nations. # Choctaw and Chickasaw nations have unrestricted right of self-government # Intruders in Choctaw or Chickasaw nations subjected to removal by the nations or the Confederacy # Land tracts set aside for Confederacy agencies # Confederacy forts in Choctaw and Chickasaw country # Confederacy right of way for railroads, telegraph lines # No Settlements or farms near forts, posts, or agencies # Appointments for Confederacy agent and interpreter # Protection from other domestric strife, white or Indian hostilities # Legal assistance, intrusion prevention, and removal of dangerous or improper persons # Property thief and recovery and payments for property not found # Licensed traders approved by National Council and trading taxed # United States laws removed that regulated Choctaw or Chickasaw selling # Choctaws and Chickasaws can take, hold and pass, purchase or descent lands in any of the Confederate States # Choctasw and Chickasaws are entitled to one representative in the House of Representatives of the Confederate States of America # Choctaw and Chickasaw country may be admitted as a state when they elect to do so and become citizens in the Confederate States of America # Land sales proceeds belong to members of the Choctaw and Chickasaw # If Creek, Seminole, and Cherokee desire to become part of the Confederate States of America, then their countries maybe annexed to become part of the Choctaw and Chickasaw confederate state Signatories There were a total of 36 signatories. Commissioner of the Confederate States: Albert Pike Commissioners of the Choctaw Nation: R.M. Jones, Geo. W. Harkins, jr., Allen Wright, Coleman Cole, William b. Pitchlynn Commissioners of the Chickasaw Nation: Holmes Colbert, Winchester Colbert, Ashalatobbe See also * List of Choctaw Treaties References Further reading *Matthews, James M. ''The Statues at Large of the Provisional Government of the Confederate States of America, 1864; reprint, Buffalo: printed by William S. Hein & Company, 1988: 311-31. External links *Communication From the Secretary of War *Confederacy signs treaties with Choctaw and Chickasaw Tribes Category:Political history of the Confederate States of America Choctaws and Chickasaws Category:1861 treaties